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Monday is icky but let's make lemons out of it by checking out what's undiscovered on Etsy.Man I think I have carpal tunnel from pouncing through Undiscovered. I have some things to say about the Undiscovered, but that's a topic for another day and another place.

I found some sweet little treasures at Flutterbudget. I fully believe that Shannon is undiscovered only because a lot of people don't have the patience to search through Etsy like I do. Let's expose this shop with it's super cool & cute jewelry! To that end, I am only featuring Shannon today.

She has a wonderful sense of color and design, which I'm sure comes from her background in Art History and fashion merchandising! She is also a button lover. So am I, though it's a collection I have yet to start!

Well! Here I am at practically the bum crack of dawn, tossing back coffee like a kid with a pixie stix. The Husband (hereafter referred to as "Burries") wanted to sleep in this morning and I, being the good soul I am, said I was heartily up to the challenge. Ha!

One thing I have already learned on this rainy Sunday morning is to stay the hell out of the 'everything else: weird' category on Etsy before I've had my second cup of coffee. Don't believe me? Go see for yourself. Not that there's anything wrong with it. That category just requires a fully functioning brain.

So, with full-on bed head and coffee cup in hand I attempt to ignore the plaintive meows from our cat Chigger and find myself typing meow into the search box on Etsy. Inspiration? Intervention from the Universe itself? Nah, I'm just not awake yet! ;)

'Meow' returned 511 items. The first to catch my eye is from Karin Grow. The Retro Kitty print is my fav!

I am so in love with this style. It would match my house purrfectly! Yes, I really did type that. *Goes to get more coffee* There's a lot of wonderful artwork and kitsch in Karin's shop so I hope you'll stop by there and check it out.

I also found a retro kitty at So Charmed, which has handmade jewelry for "Punks, Pirates, and Princesses". What's New Pussycat? is my favorite by far, but she's got a lot of really cool designs.

This particular item comes with a very interesting story, so check out the listing to find out a bit of trivia about the movie industry! Really really. You can also visit So Charmed's Website for more info.

Kim is influenced by the Saturday morning cartoons she saw as a kid livin' in Jersey. Now she's in Seattle and living her dream. You can visit her website to read more about her and find out what other cool things she does! I totally see the influence from the 70's cartoons. These kitties in particular make me wistful for my childhood. :)

Another beautiful day here in the south. I hope you have lovely weather where you are and that your weekend is beyond fantastic!

My earliest entrance into the 'I love eye candy' club was a subscription I had to Victoria magazine. There is something about that magazine that is just so appealing. I could never actually see myself wearing the clothes they show or even decorating in quite that style, but there's something. I used to make envelopes from the pages and send letters to friends. I also cut the pages down and made funky origami with them.

Searching 'Victorian' brought me over 11,000 results! For being over a hundred years old the style and essence of the Victorian era is still very much present.

My only pick for today is Shy Siren. I do not know how I have not ever seen her shop before today. Her jewelry is so incredibly beautiful that I am completely jealous of every single one of her creations. Really really. Not only do I wish I owned all of her pieces, but I wish I made them.Look how lovely...

Here is another...

Victorian and stunning and fabulous. I wish I knew where she got her supplies from. *scheming in my head about how to find out* Seriously though, I don't know what I'm doing wrong but I aim to find out and correct it.

And just when I began to feel like I might never ever make jewelry as beautiful as hers, I read her shop announcement. Whoamg, she wrote a book! It's called "Perfect Match: Earring Designs For Every Occasion" and you can buy it on Amazon. Seriously! Amazon. Well no wonder. Now I don't feel quite so bad. This gal is professional! Visit her Perfect Match website for more information about the book. Here is a snippet from her profile:

"I design & hand-craft each and every piece with consideration and deliberation of the materials, textures, colors, and the way light reflects or passes through each. All pieces have their own unique design sensibility and are often one-of-a-kind. Lots of LOVE goes into each design!"

Yet another artisan that I admire and strive to be like. She puts love into her designs and it shows in each and every single piece. I can feel that love all the way over here! Can't you? You can see more of her jewelry in her Etsy shop and you can visit her at her website. Please go see her. Please share the love.

I am trying to figure out how to buy her book without The Husband noticing yet another craft related purchase. Wish me all kinds of luck, I am sooo gonna need it!

Oh, ok.. just one more picture! (I can't help myself!!!)

Visit Sara at Shy Siren. I cannot say enough wonderful things about her shop and her website and her beautiful craftsmanship.

Yesterday I made a photo mosaic meme on 17 Grandia. I followed the instructions and was completely surprised (and delighted too!) by the photos that my search words returned. Some are obvious, but some are not. I love that a picture can be many things to many people. :)

Inspired by that photo mosaic, I decided to search Etsy today using three of the questions from that meme. Working backwards, I chose Starr first. That's two R's, which pretty much cut out all sorts of 'star' things. My search returned just 62 items. Let's get to picking, shall we?

Anna has mice from all walks of life from Beatles to zombies! She will take commissions as well, so you can personalize your mouse. Amazing detail in something so small! The Kid and I want to own them all! Check out House of Mouse, it is guaranteed to make you smile :D

Next I searched the answer to question 11, which was 'sad', because I was feeling a little blue last night. 'Sad' returned 3445 items. Hmm. My favorite item is the Queen of Sorrow from Anne Julie.

I love Anne Julie's shop and her work and I have been a fan for a long time. She is a well established artist. You can visit her at her website or her blog and naturally her Etsy shop! I like her artwork because it is filled with emotion. It isn't just painted figures; each and every one of her pieces says something. So get on over there and share some love for a talented artist :D

Last I answered the question of 'who do I love most' in the world. This was a tough question for me since I am married to a wonderful man and have a beautiful daughter. I wound up picking my husband only because I've loved him longer. :) To preserve anonymity I searched 'husband' and got 325 items.

With summer in full swing, I wanted to see what items Etsians were tagging as 'summer'. While looking through the gallery in my usual random way, I realized that I tend to set the search by 'price low to high'. I do this mainly for my own benefit; if I see something I can't live without I want to be able to indulge in that spur of the moment purchase.

But in doing this I have neglected an entire section of Etsy filled with amazing talent and vision. So today is all about the 'price high to low'.

Gemella Artisan Jewelry is the first shop to catch my attention. After reading her bio and looking at all of the items in her shop, I feel almost as if I'm playing at making jewelry. There is just no comparison. It is no wonder her jewelry has been featured in galleries! Yes, galleries. Read her profile for all the juicy tidbits! The Summery Gemmy necklace is my favorite:

This necklace is so incredibly beautiful that I need to show you two pics.

This eye candy is so wonderous that it's actually advanced eye candy. Romantic, feminine, playful and flirty. This design has it all. I am actually going to cry a little bit that it can't be mine.Please view Gemella's shop. I now have found the level of quality to strive for in my own work.

I would be remiss if I didn't find a dress to wear with this jewelry. We must complete the dream! That brings me to Astoria Designs. Tabitha has been in the business for over 20 years, and every bit of that experience shows in this Summer dress:

How beautiful would you feel in this dress? I know that I would feel like a princess in a lovely, hazy, summery dream that I wouldn't want to wake up from! Tabitha also does some custom work too!

Ok to complete the ensemble, I found this fabulous silk purse at Bobbi Jordan.

You can visit Bobbi Jordan's blog to see what movie star and famous writer own a bag designed by M. a. D. You can view more M.a.D. handbags here. Bobbi's shop is filled with gorgeous jewelry as well. You can also request custom handbags!

You're on your own for shoes; in my dream I'm barefoot! I think these three items are just so gorgeous and I think they go together beautifully. But I'm not exactly an expert in fashion design. Hey, at least I didn't pair it up with a red sequin bag and a beret! lol.

Happy hump day! Yesterday I tried my hand at crocheting and felting. Hop over to 17 Grandia to read that exciting blog entry! Part of my foray into that activity included my need to learn to crochet a round. That then led me to find instructions. Ha. Well. I am befuddled by instructions for crocheting. And don't get me started on knitting. I don't know how people do it. The M in Law tried to teach me to knit and I nearly poked my own eye out.

So today I am going to give a shout of for the folks that can not only follow a pattern, but those who actually create patterns. My mind boggles. Seriously.

The first great find is Ele at Nutella Dreams. While reading her shop announcement I was pretty sure I was detecting 'New York'. (If you're born and raised in NY you kind of develop a NY'ker radar) Sure enough popping over to her profile proved me right! So not only do I get to show you some super cool patterns, I get to give a shout out to a NY'ker. :D

Love the color, love the groovy button. Love that she created this pattern! Hate that I can't follow a pattern! Grrr! Visit her and check out her other offerings. She's got hats a plenty and even a cheeseburger!

I next found Mel at Forever T and M. She's got patterns for the most adorable dolls! I was hard pressed to pick just one, but I finally decided on Tammy the bunny:

I love this bunny. Look at the detail that went into making this pattern. She's wearing a tiny flower bracelet! Mel is amazed that yarn and a hook can create these little gems. I am too! But more amazed that she created the pattern for it. Check out her shop, it's full of adorable things that you will want to make!

My last choice for today is Knit Art by Grace. I chose her specifically because she states in her profile:

"Helping a new crafter/beginner with a "simple & easy" patterns is my passion. I love what I do. Hope you'll enjoy my tutorial."

I love that she keeps it simple and easy. I fell in love with the Lazy Days bag, which says Easy right in the title!

Not only do I love the bag, I love the colors. I'm also wondering if it might just not be easy enough for me to follow. Check out her shop for both crochet and knit patterns, as well as some finished products.

I envy each and every one of these talented women who can conceive of something and turn it into a pattern for others to follow.

Please note that unless otherwise specified, patterns you purchase on Etsy are for personal use. The patterns cannot be resold nor can you sell the finished products.

Share the love :D

**** Update!

Ele at at thnkdfrent/Nutella Dreams shared some love with me and sent me free patterns for the Newsboy Hat. I can attest to the fact that she is a super gal and her patterns are awesome. Keep watch on 17 Grandia for photos of the hat I make! The Kid is gonna be styling! :D Super thanks to Ele!

Aprons. Do you remember a time when it was practically unheard of to not wear an apron? My mom didn't wear aprons, unless it was Thanksgiving and then only because she made us matching Colonial outfits. (I know!) But I grew up watching I Love Lucy (didn't we all?) and even now I still catch an episode here and there, and I wonder how much of what she wore reflected the actual average person. Did women dress like that all the time? Did they put on their aprons in the morning when making breakfast? Did they make breakfast all dressed and pretty?

I don't know about you, but half the time I shuffle out of the bedroom with bed head in search of a cup of coffee. I think maybe that's why I like to think that back 'in the day' women were much classier and took care of their appearance all the time and wore aprons that made them look so feminine and beautiful and strong and not at all subservient.

So today is about aprons, and a tribute to women of simpler times who I really wish in my heart were as lovely as they seemed.

Chic to Chic (fab name!) is making aprons fun and flirty. She says so right in her shop announcement, and I believe her. Check this out.. she calls it Tangerine Dream.

I love the vintage style fabric and the colors. Each of her aprons is named after a film, which hopefully inspires you to spend time with family and friends.

Sue at Giabella Designs finds time between work and being a mom to make these lovely aprons. The Park Slope vintage style apron is my favorite. I love the color combination, and the panel in the center really pops!

My daughter has an apron and chef's hat but they're pretty plain fare compared to this. I love the French style and all the details. She also has them in matching adult sizes. How cute is that?

With the Indie scene being what it is today and with a refocus on hand crafting I hope we can all being to appreciate once again the simpler life; the quiet moments where we find quality matters, and that making things with your own hands gives you a sense of pride and accomplishment.

I know I love that silly Frankendog no matter how dumb he looks! :DShare the love.

Susie Ghahremani graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design and I think her artwork is filled with an aura of childlike wonderment. Which, as it turns out, is exactly what she strives for. Freaky that I thought that and found that exact phrase in her profile! Really really! In fact, she describes it in the name of her shop as well. Here's a snippet about that:

"What's a "boygirlparty", you ask? It's the first party you go to as a kid that has boys and girls at the party, it's strange and new and exciting and full of childhood wonderment. It's also my pseudonym as I hope my artwork expresses those same sentiments!"

I love her owls, and in fact, everything in her shop! Oh for a million dollars...

Manic Muffin does all her quilting by hand, and if you can believe it, in 12 stitches per inch. I don't know about you, but I think that's a lot of tiny stitches! She must have eyes like a hawk to see them! The M-in-law quilts and I can tell you, that's seriously professional quality. Not to mention beautiful.

I love the colors and the delicate spirals the best. Wyanne has an amazing story and I hope you'll visit her shop and website and spend time getting to know her. She is having a summer contest as well, which you can read about in her shop profile. Wouldn't you love to win a custom original painting by Wyanne?! Go on now, run.. don't walk :)

Thanks for visiting with me today and checking out the owls I spied on Etsy. Have a great Monday!

I spent yesterday and most of (Friday too) working out how to make a sock animal. I got a book from the library called Sock and Glove. It seemed pretty easy; the book had pictures to follow. How much easier can it get?

Well, I'm not a good sewer. Not even by a little bit. I want to sew. I want to have beautiful seams. I wanted to have a sock dog that would be the envy of sock dogs everywhere! What I got, is Frankendog. (Now to be fair, I took him apart and put him back together again. He originally had an X for one eye and his body was extremely long and gangly. He also had a crooked head and (since I was making him from a pair of used socks) a mangy quality to his ears. So here he is; Frankendog.

I will be posting on 17 Grandia Road later today the travesty of sock kitty and sock bunny.

Now lets get down to someone who can actually do this properly. Uppity Woman! Well more properly, Uppity Woman Designs.

Frankendog is staring at me right now. I think he feels betrayed. But look at Rosie. How adorable and cute is she? Look at that face! And that little red flower she wears makes her look quite jaunty. Maybe Frankendog wants a date?

This little guy is super clever and totally awesome for being kinda geeky and dashing at the same time!

This is the quality I am striving for. I don't know that I want to sell sock animals, I think I just want to be able to be proud that I was able to make a high quality sock dog. Don't get me wrong. I love Frankendog because he was my very first attempt. And while he has already changed once, I may even change his eyes again; he looks kinda girly.

So how do you hide the seams on the legs and head? This is one of those "I've been sewing for a dog's age (no pun intended) and it's one of those things you just pick up along the way" isn't it. *sigh* Research and the internet is my friend and I will, by dog, find out!!

Uppity Woman's got it goin' on. She is my sock animal hero! And she can be yours too. Go visit her shop. Adopt a sock animal. She has got the most lovely little critters. If I had a million dollars (oo, Bare Naked Ladies sang a song about that!) I'd own every single one of them!-----

As an aside, I received an Adopt-A-Gnome in the mail yesterday as a thank you from Cheryl at Once Upon The End! I can't believe it! I am now the proud parent of Gilbert. He grows award winning radishes, loves to knit, and is only 108 years old. That's quite young for a gnome you know! Here's his picture!

By now it's probably obvious that I love fantasy. I especially love gnomes, but I also love fairies. While searching fairies I came across someone who is still undiscovered (unbelievably!) and I just had to feature Katy from Winsome Hollow. Ok, right to the eye candy!

Needle felting to me is so wispy and magical, especially when it's little wee folk like these. Katy is a super talented wool artisan. Here is a snippet from her profile:

"I strive to create heirloom quality pieces which may be passed down through the years. I love the idea of creating original, one of a kind works which are equally durable, strong, and yet soft to the touch. This strength of construction and all natural material allows people to enjoy distinctive pieces of art..."

She is also a proud member of the Brooklyn Craft Collective. Katy is also able to translate that magical feeling into her felted and fabric clutches. These would be perfect for keeping your felted treasures in, because once you buy them you know you'll be taking them everywhere to show them off!

So, why not be among the first to own one of these amazing pieces of art? You can always say, "Oh yes, Winsome Hollow! I was one of the first to own one. Pity you didn't get one of her earlier works!"

I've come to the decision that I have crafting issues. These issues involve my seeing so many awesome things on Etsy every day and not being able to stop myself from wanting to try making these things myself.

For instance, I blogged about a sock dog and now I am in the middle of making one. The Husband donated a pair of relatively unused black socks to the cause. I sewed up all the bits yesterday and now I have to get a bag of fill so I can stuff the little mongrel and put his arms and ears on. My God, it's so darn cute, even in pieces! The Husband practically giggles when I hold up the pieces and show him. He thinks it's hysterical. I'm already perusing online sock shops so I can make fancier ones and I'm not even done with this one! And, here's the kicker; I can't even really sew.

I KNOW!!

I wish I could sew. I have a machine that belonged to my mom, it's a Singer Featherweight. It looks just like this:

It's an antique or some such and doesn't do anything fancy (that I know of) but it does sew in a straight line. At least, if I knew how to use it, it would. The M in Law tried it out and couldn't believe how well it worked.

Wow. That was off on a tangent wasn't it. Here comes the actual point of my ramblings! Whilst in the middle of making my sock dog I realized I would need buttons for his eyes. Um. I don't have buttons because I don't sew! I figured I would just buy a couple of buttons at the craft store when I get the poly fill for it. That will do just fine for my first sock dog attempt. But, what happens when I get super cool socks? Surely plain buttons are just not going to cut it. So you know what happens next. :)

I found Button Bakery! Oh polymer clay how I love you and how you elude me so well!! Now as the name indicates, this shop is filled with nothing but really cool buttons. Michael also has another shop on Etsy called Mossy Owls, where she features polymer clay jewelry. I hope you'll check out that second shop; she has cupcake charms that are every bit as charming as you could possibly imagine! She is one talented girl with a serious clay vision! (Yes, I am now wanting to go out and purchase clay and go mad with it. My one foray into Sculpey turned out to be soccer balls and a broken pasta maker, which I would prefer to forget. *shudder*)

I bet you're completely ready for the eye candy. Here they be; in all their clay goodness:

I especially love the teal pair. They have a luminescence that makes them look like stone. Just lovely.

Now, if I've piqued your interest, you can also visit Michael on her blog, Mossy Owls, or on her other blog, Odds and Ends. Both blogs are well put together and are now on my reader so I can visit regularly. I hope you'll do the same.

We interrupt our regularly scheduled feature to present an award I received from Erin at Jewellery by Erin! She is a rockin' chick who has awesome talent! Thank you so much Erin! I'm orbiting the moon over this one :D

To follow her example, I am in turn bestowing this award to 5 people. This is awesome fun!

Lisa Clark at Polka Dot Creations because I have never seen anyone repurpose fabric the way she does. She sews up something fabulous every time, and probably has the best skirt collection in the entire world! And she does amazing things with polymer clay with a talent I can only dream about.

Mary at South End Blend because her site is always filled with eye candy a plenty, from peonies to linen napkins to ribbon or even a peach. It's always mouthwatering at Mary's. I love to read about her life and see her creativity. She inspires me with every visit to her blog.

Ree at The Pioneer Woman because she can blog like no one I've ever seen. She has got it all from awesome kids, to The Marlboro Man, to a home on the range and still has time to blog, do give aways, share stories of her life and times, and my god.. just go look at her website. If you haven't been, you will not believe it! She is my blogging hero.

Heather at Oh My Stinkin' Heck because she makes me think and she makes me laugh. Her blog is one that I would probably be called a "lurker" on since I don't often comment. But I do visit all the time and I enjoy every minute I'm there.

Cheryl at Once Upon The End because once I visited doing my gnome blog, I could not stop staring at her blog. She makes the most beautiful things! She has since sold the gnome journal and I have mixed feelings about that. I'm happy she did, but I wanted it!!! *sniff* *grin*

So those are my picks for this award. I'm so very happy to have won it and almost as happy to pass it on :D

Oh my. I am just making changes left and right this week. First, featuring an entire mini, and now changing the title. I think the day of the week was getting boring!

Today I found a cool chick named Valeri and her shop, Studio 9. She makes these lovely pendants from maple wood. She is also blogging about her experiences. She is also making tons of sales, and is just shy of her personal goal for this month. I thought I would do a little somethingt to help her out. :)

I hope you'll click over and visit and maybe purchase something. Her work is lovely and you'd be helping her reach her personal sales goal.. :) I know I hope I've helped.

Speaking of sales, I wanted to mention that I purchased this super awesome key chain that I blogged about here, from Artisanne and just received it. She is out of this world in craftsmanship! I love it!

Last night I found myself with a few hours of free time. I know! We were meant to be watching Sweeney Todd but after 15 minutes I couldn't take it anymore. Did you know it was a musical? I know it came from Broadway originally, but I guess I thought Tim Burton wouldn't do that to us. How wrong I was!

So, with time to spare I had the rare pleasure of visiting many of the blogs and websites I don't normally have time to read. Among them, was Art Bead Scene. I found this blog only just recently by actually Stumbling Upon it. But I'm hooked! Yesterday's post was a collection of delightful lampwork beads, each one a cupcake! I went nuts over these beauties and followed each and every link she provided and that is how I found Fancy Pants Sugar Toppers.

With a background in a wedding cake business, and a love of lampworking, this is a natural combination. Completely delightful and delicious eye candy!!

Every single one of these beads is so gosh darn cute that I can't stand it! I want to buy every single one and string them and hang them above my desk so I can see them all the time. The robots are completely adorable and I know my daughter would freak for them.

I love that Rachel is self taught. It gives hope to all of us who love the art of glass. I also admire that she was able to combine her love of two very different interests into something so amazing.You can also find more Fancy Pants Sugar Topping goodness on Flickr!

*Discretely pulls out a pocket watch and waves it in front of her blog readers* You will buy Sugar Toppers and send them to me! mwahahaah!! *giggle*

To date I have 38 blog posts here at Grandia Road. Does that make me an honest to goodness blogger now? I wonder! There were quite a bunch of posts on my previous, yet failed, blogs. There are also one or two posts at 17 Grandia Road as well, though that's the personal stuff and not as interesting as the eye candy. Still, I think the desire to do it every day and enjoy it makes me a true blue blogger. At last!

Today will be my first foray into featuring an Etsy mini. Remember I told you I figured out how to do that? Not hard at all, just had to use the noggin. :) (Which believe me, is a lot less intuitive than you would think. I have a 5 year old, after all. Did you know you lose like a gajillion brain cells when you're pregnant?)

Alright, enough waffle! I found The Starcraft today and fell right in love. You can fall in love too! I present to you, the lost art of Moravian paper star folding.

First, let me tell you that Frances is a fellow member of the Etsy Mom street team. Go Etsy Moms!! Since she can say it better than I, here is an excerpt from her profile:

Many names have been given to these handmade paper stars, the Moravian Star, Christmas Star, Herrnhut Star, Advent Star, German Star, Froebel’s Star, Ribbon Star, Swedish Star, which have been found in various forms through many cultures worldwide. Folded stars appear to have originated in northern Europe where they were traditionally made with white paper. These crafty works of art are not really origami, but closer to a form of basketry. They are folded from four strips of paper creating a three dimensional, sixteen-pointed star. The stars were originally dipped in paraffin wax and hung outside to decorate evergreen and shrubbery during the holiday season. The intent of dipping these stars in wax was a weather proofing technique to keep the stars from rain and snow damage. Through the years they have become more than just Christmas decorations; each folded paper star is a work of art.

I agree completely that each piece is a work of art. I think my favorite is the jar of tiny constellations, what amazing eye candy! :D

Now, the cool thing about posting this mini is that it will always be here in this post, with each item clickable and taking you directly to the item in the shop. Also, it will change as the shop changes! *gets down with her bad self* Enjoy! See you tomorrow :D

Oh the things you can find on Etsy when you pounce. Really. Some of the things I cannot believe someone even thought to make. Others are so delightful that I wish I could buy them all up.

Todays find is something in the second category. I saw it and wanted it immediately. However, it was not at all what I thought it was. What does it look like to you?

It looks like an amazingly delicious piece of chocolate chip pie, right? With delectable curls of chocolate on top and a nice thick chocolate (probably graham cracker?) crust, right?

Wait, let me show you another photo..

There, see? I missed saying there was coconut on top. Whew, I wouldn't want to miss that. I love coconut.

Now, the truth?

It's Soap. SOAP! At first my heart fell, but then.. hey! It's soap! How cool is that!!? This soap is made by Open Window Soap Works. Also known as The Sudstress, Kat makes the most amazing soap I've ever seen. Here is a basic list of the ingredients she uses:

"My original recipe is a wonderful balance of cleansing, moisturizing and lathering properties."

And, I believe her.

She does have soap that doesn't look like pie, and it is still beautiful and each bar looks like a work of art.

What I especially like about her soap is that each bar is an opportunity to pamper yourself. We all use soap.. all of us, every single day. Do most of us ever notice it, unless it's not there? Kat's soap is worth noticing, worth paying attention to, and worth taking a little extra time to slow down and be pampered. We deserve it. Visit Kat at Open Window Soap Works and pamper yourself by getting a bar or two!

Happy Father's Day! I am up super early today to let The Husband sleep in. Which is good in a way, not in a 'Hey! I'm awake!' kind of way, but in a 'oo, more time to browse on Etsy' kind of way!

I got to thinking about that paper bag journal from the other day, the one that Nigel wanted. Well, I really want it too. Not to write in, but to just look at and keep as part of a collection. That got me thinking about all the books that I have in my "collection" most of which are books I think my daughter, (The Kid) will someday really get into. That thought led me to the array of scrapbook paper I have and the non-existent scrapbook album I was hoping to make for her to record every minute of her wonderful life. (Unlike my parents, who did not even fill out my baby book!) This was all in a split second mind, and now I'm feeling quite guilty that I never made that album. I do have a few pages made, but nothing that I could ever present to her and say "Hey Kid! This is your life!". I suck at being a crafty mom. :(

But I think I have discovered a way for busy moms like me to have that kid of album without all fuss and hoo-ha. (segue!) Aloha Scrapping is the solution. Wendy creates and sells pre-made albums that have an attention to detail that, quite frankly, I would be hard pressed to match.

Yes, the chest comes with the album. Think of all the wonderful souvenirs you could put in there! Shells from the beach, a leaf from a walk through the woods, oh the possibilities! The album itself is amazing, here are a few photos of the pages themselves.

Look at how lovely!! It says "Vintage with a hint of old world charm". Doesn't it?

In addition to all the offerings in her shop, Wendy is completely happy to do custom orders. She will work with you and your budget to create something to die for no matter what you can spend. You can also view her website, which has more samples of her work.

I'm off to find what else you can do with paper bags! Have a fun filled Sunday :D

Summer. Hot. Muggy. Humid. Y.U.C.K. I dislike the heat intensely. I love the imagery of summer (and long for it in January) but in actuality I much prefer fall. So I am longing for fall while sitting here drinking a cold lemonade. Do you sense a segue coming up? ;)

I love lemons. I always thought it was silly to call cars that didn't work lemons. Lemons are a good thing! And I have always believed that if life gave you lemons you should make lemonade. Duh! What else would you do with them? I believe my sentiment is echoed by Elena Diadenko-Hunter, evidenced by "I am Sorry About Lemons".

What is cool about this painting is that it's done on glass. What is super cool about it is that it's painted in reverse. Yes. Reverse! That does not even compute for me. This was painted backwards. *boggle* The colors are beautiful and cheerful and it reminds me of my sister and me.

Elena was born in the Ukraine and lives in the U.S. now. If you would like to know more about this super fabulous artist you can visit her website. Her Etsy shop has glass paintings and even prints . Be sure to check out the mermaids too. They are just as gorgeous as you imagine!

Another Friday at Grandia Road! Every day is a learning process and yesterday I learned something interesting about java script. I know! I can't believe it myself. So today I get to share my Etsy mini with you. Now that's not particularly exciting because I have done that before on previous days. But! I now have the ability to easily showcase one person good and truly well. Keep your dear eyes pealed for that in the very near future. :)

I love gnomes. Have I said? Sadly, I only have one actual gnome. His name is Nigel P. Worcestershire. He hangs out with Captain Jack Sparrow on my desk. Let me just say that I am not one of those action figure nerds. I only have the one. And only that one because I love pirates and it was a gift. Really really. I do have several books about gnomes and fairies and all manner of wee folk. I love the fantasy of it all. So today... many things gnome. Here's a photo of Nigel totally not enjoying the sun. Candles don't do well in the sun.

He stood patiently for the photo but then I had to get him the heck back into the air conditioning. He's such a wuss. But I love him!

And now, many things gnome. :D

First up we have The Dreamy Giraffe. KJ has amazing talent at capturing an ethereal and innocent quality in her artwork. Take a close look at the faces; most especially the eyes. This 'Gnome Who Is Not Your Momma's Garden Gnome has Nigel all a twitter! I bet he'd love to have her hanging above him so he could stare at her all day. Please check out KJ's profile so you can get to know her. She is officially better than the Zooman!

Second, we have Sarah at the Museum Of Useless Objects, or MoUO. She definitely does not make useless objects! I love this vessel first because she calls it jaunty and not enough people use that word anymore! I also love it for it's color and shape and the fact that it's gnome-sized. I also love it because it's 'made in Cape Cod, and also because Nigel would like it to keep his treasures in! Sarah is also a sculptor and has seriously amazing talent working with metal. So, check her out at MoUo and on her website.

Next up is Teresa's Ceramics with Mr. Spades. He is supposedly Gordon's best friend, but I think Nigel might be able to win him over. Don't you? Well, admittedly Nigel is only a candle. Very dull conversation wise. And the whole 'can't be in the sun' thing. But, I'll bet Mr. Spades would love to hang out on my desk with Nigel. After all, Nigel knows a pirate captain! Visit Teresa and her amazing ceramics and check out her blog as well.

Now you knew that jewelry would appear at some point. And there it is, from Cupboard Scraps. From start to finish this is a professional job. I'm drooling over this pendant, seriously. Not only does it have that vintage quality, but it's finished on the back as well. And! It comes packaged beautifully. Packaging can be a selling feature (obviously for gifts) but in this case, the packaging is almost as awesome as the pendant itself. I wish I had more info to share with you about Cupboard Scraps, but certainly you can see for yourself how lovely their work is.

Moving on, there is Once Upon The End which I would have sworn was right out of merry England, but it actually from Illinois. Go figure! This journal would be fabulous for Nigel, but I think he would find it a bit daunting, size wise. I love it though, and I love that it's repurposing paper bags and uses hemp.. it has an all natural feel to it that is quite appealing. You can also visit Cheryl on her blog, where you can learn about her, and see pictures of cute babies!

And lastly, Nothin' But Wood. Now considering this a guy owned shop, I'm going to try to leave out the innuendos. I have seen several of these adorable wee folk doors during my internet travels, but usually on a large production scale. These are clearly made by someone who has enormous love for his craft. Kerry has carved (oo, bad pun!) a nice niche for himself.

Nigel has requested the I buy everything on this page today. Alas, I wish I could purchase every single one of the items I feature. I really, really do. I hope you feel the same way.

Let's cut right to the chase. No nonsense from me today because what I found is totally Bad Ass! That is, Bad Ass Custom Decals! And you thought I was being cheeky!

Straight from Florida, David and Alicia at Bad Ass (ok, so I like saying it) have been designing decals for a few years now and it shows. (Yes, in a good way!) There are so many designs I like but I tried to pick three to give you a good idea of the array of possibilities.

I love the whimsy of this, and if you check out the listing you'll see that it's available in 26 colors. Yes, 26! Which means it can match virtually any decor. I think it would be cool in a kids room. :)

Now imagine this type of decal customized just for you. Poems, famous quotes, your own writing.. anything(!) can be made into a decal. How utterly cool is that!?

Finally, here is a very cool idea which I especially love because it's a tree.

I have a serious fascination with trees. I'm kind of agog at the moment just browsing through this shop thinking about all the amazing things I could do with these decals were I not in a rental home. Not to mention that they must have access to an endless amount of fashionable homes to show their work off in. Not only was I drooling over the decals I was drooling over the interior decor. :)

***Alicia and David are offering a 15% discount to my readers! Yes! That's right! 15% off a purchase at their shop if you say you came from Grandia Road. So now we know they are just as bad ass as their products :) ***

Now, if you love a monkey, and many of us do, you can visit the Monkey Travel Club Flickr page to see all the monkeys your heart desires. (Does this little monkey face look familiar to you? From a previous blog post perhaps? Comment on that blog post and you will receive 15% off an item in either of my Etsy shops! Please convo first so I can adjust the price.)

Now, not only is there this fabulous talent for monkey making, this clever crafter is also Isew on Etsy which has beautiful handbags, quilts, and even faboo baby bibs. You can also get more in depth with Isew on blogspot. It's a beautifully put together blog and it is going on my Sage for Firefox so I can keep up with this talented chick.

Looking for monkey love? Visit The Monkey Travel Club. Looking to save 15% off one of the items in my shop? Comment on the previous blog post that has monkey love and convo me on Etsy with the item name so I can adjust the price!

Today is all about my hometown, New York. More properly, I am from Westchester county which is one hour north of New York City. The interesting thing about New York is that most people tend to forget there is an entire state looming over that 22 square mile piece of land. Go figure, it's only a technicality. ;)

So I searched New York on Etsy and I found three things that I wanted to share. There were some seriously bizarre things on there which made me kind of die a little bit inside. (I searched NY after all, I should have seen that coming.)

I love Dogwood trees. Luckily they are also prevalent here in the south, so I do get to see them blooming still. Amazing isn't it that you could find this so close to the concrete jungle. Gallo Girl has fantastic photos from all over the city. It was hard to choose one, but I really do love the colors in this one. Check out her shop, there's something for everyone from this self-taught photographer!

Coney Island (watch your eyes if you click on that link, wow it's yellow!) is synonymous with New York and summer. This bracelet captures summer, sun, and fun! What a fantastic souvenir for anyone who has been to Coney Island or even wishes they could.

The third pick is from a shop called Chic Throws 2, and I'm cheating here a little bit. I found a throw that was a 70's New York throw, but the colors clashed with the other two items, so I am featuring Spring Fling instead. (Hey, it's my blog ya know!)

These throws are made in France from hand selected textiles, which are luxurious to say the least. Taking a page from Martha Stewart, Tricia Guild and Kelly Hoppen, Chic Throws 2 seeks to fill the niche for much desired well made and designed throw pillows.